The 'greening' of Durham:

doctor promotes positive living, loving, working

Colour-coded therapy developed by Whitby doctor

DURHAM -Just as green, yellow and red traffic lights indicate when to go, be cautious and when to stop, so too do the mental health indicators taught by Khalid Sohail.

The Whitby psychiatrist says he's had success in helping individuals, couples and families experience the best in life. That's when they are in a 'green' zone state of mind. Dr. Sohail also teaches people to recognize when they're not fully functioning in the anxious 'yellow' zone and how the 'red' zone means trouble: despair, defeat and communication breakdown. 

"I developed this model working with couples and families,"
he says. "They seemed to respond very well. I was making them more aware of problems by using layman's terms rather than the jargon used by most people on mental health issues. I was making them aware of the things they could do for themselves."

        Dr. Khalid Sohail
So clear was the colour-coded therapy that Dr. Sohail wrote a book, 'The Art of Living in Your Green Zone.' A sequel, 'The Art of Loving in Your Green Zone,' will be followed by 'The Art of Working in Your Green Zone.' , 

A self-described "humanist," he says his approach is nonjudgmental in an effort to take the stigma out of being mentally ill and the use of psychiatric labels. He gives as an example how the word depression is bandied about. Although potentially a very serious illness, he asks, "What if a person's depression is just general sadness and goes away in a week or two? It might just be simple sadness, perhaps related to the weather."

 When couples fight and argue, he has observed, they are not at their best. "Good communication only can take place when both are in the green zone," he explains. "When. one is in the green zone and one is in the red -red is like someone who is drunk. You can talk and talk but you'll have to wait until the other person is in the green zone."

Once the couple and-or family members establish when they're in their green zones, weekly talks are scheduled between them to talk about what's on their respective minds before tensions build. Wisely, Dr. Sohail stresses one person cannot change another, but rather look after him or her- self. He says the two main issues he sees most people trying to deal with stem from material loss and conflict.

"Many people have not learned how to discuss a difference of opinion in a respectful, dignified way without becoming offensive and losing control," he says. "1 help them learn how to articulate. They may first write a letter if they cannot communicate verbally. This opens new channels. Sometimes a client just writes to me. It can help sort out discussions for themselves."

When in the red zone, conflicted people often blame others, he contends, adding when family members are a source of pain, it is important for people to develop a social support network.

While the individual and family unit may seem microcosms in times of war and terrorism, Dr. Sohail also looks beyond lo the community at large and the inter- national scene. His recent re- lease, 'From Islam to Secular Humanism,' has garnered much attention since Sept. 11,2001.

"Coming from Pakistan, I was very interested," he says, adding that he does not consider himself a Freudian or Jungian but that he has "learned from both." The Mahatma Gandhis and Nelson Mandelas of the world are perhaps greater influences than the fathers of psychiatry.

In yet another of his books, 'Pages of My Heart,' he states: ."1 think that we have reached such a turning point in history where we are forced to make certain choices individually and collectively we have to transcend the resentments based on class, race, gender, language or religious differences and anger because of the conflicts between the East and West, North and South, first and third world and many other man- made divisions. I believe that we are the products of our dreams. When our dreams are shattered we start to disintegrate individually and collectively."